The Weinstein Company Is Getting Sued Over Cancelled Amazon Series

Fallout from the Harvey Weinstein allegations already has been far and wide, and the waves of repercussions will be felt for years to come. The Weinstein Company was an extremely active production company, with numerous projects in various stages of development in both the film and television realms. And now it's turning out that two producers who were deep into development on a crime show for Amazon and The Weinstein Company are filing a $2 million lawsuit now that Amazon has pulled the plug on the program.

Scott Lambert and Alexandra Milchan are a husband-and-wife team who were collaborating on an as-yet-untitled crime show for David O. Russell that would have starred Robert De Niro and Julianne Moore. Those are heavy-hitter names from the film community to bring over to a television show, and having De Niro involved in any crime show instantly raises the curiosity factor.

Alas, Amazon reportedly got cold feet in October after the sexual allegations levied at Harvey Weinstein and backed away from all deals that it had with TWC moving forward. According to TechCrunch, David O. Russell at the time released a statement supporting the decision. But Scott Lambert and Alexandra Milchan now claim in their lawsuit, according to Variety, that they are owed $2 million in producers' fees, and they are seeking relief for negligence, fraud and breach of contract. The lawsuit, in part, claims:

Defendants had numerous warning signs that such a scandal was brewing. In the years before TWC entered into the Contract, TWC had received numerous complaints of sexual abuse and harassment engaged in by Weinstein. Those complaints, if investigated with reasonable diligence, would have disclosed that Weinstein was unfit for his position with TWC.

It is a lingering question swirling around The Weinstein Company as it continues to deal with the fallout from the sexual allegations aimed at co-founder Harvey Weinstein: Who knew what, how much did they know, and how long did they know it for? Because as Scott Lambert and Alexandra Milchan point out, if these details were known about Harvey Weinstein for a long enough period of time, then it was in the company's best interest not to continue engaging in business practice with him, and the deal with Amazon could have been established on a different, stronger foundation.

As is stated in Variety, Harvey Weinstein continues to deny that any non-consensual sexual activity has taken place, so these allegations are far from being finalized. And lawsuits like the one filed by Scott Lambert and Alexandra Milchan on behalf of their now-defunct crime show seem like the first in what could be many people reaching out to be financially compensated after Weinstein's alleged transgressions.